September 15, 2017

There is another great moment in the church. People have been spreading the gospel and a new church has sprung up. This church is healthy and caring for people and for the leaders of the church. This is one of those mountain top moments for those involved in the new movement of God. However, as we’ve seen so often, the world reminds us that we don’t belong here. There is a constant jerk back to the reality that this place is not where we belong.

James, the brother of John, is killed. He is murdered for his faith. The reaction is so positive to his murder than the other political leaders decide to hunt down more believers. They decide to find more of the church’s leadership and do the same to them. They find Peter and decide to throw him into prison.

In our comfy homes, and first world problems, it’s easy to forget that this world is not the goal. It’s easy to get so caught up in the temporary, the everyday life stuff, and forgot that we’re here on mission doing something. The Apostles and the church were seeing great things happen and it might have been easy for them to forget that Jesus promised persecution. It might have been easy for them to get comfortable.

We get comfortable. It’s understandable. Yet sometimes it takes a tragedy before we remember that we are here for a reason. We are here to share the gospel. We are here and this world is not our home.